Security screen for window

ABSTRACT

A security screen with supporting frame for easy installation over a conventional metal window casing.

mted States Patent 1191 1111 Hance Mar. 18, 1975 [54] SECURITY SCREEN FOR WINDOW 2,139,423 12/1938 Scheeler 52/656 X 2,150,675 3/1939 Edwards 6 49/61 X [761 invent 3 1857 3,177,924 4/1965 McPhail 160/91 Mesa AYIZ- 85203 3,203,052 8/1965 Curtis, Jr. 49/171 x [22] Fi1ed: Jan. 24, 1974 [21] Appl' 436064 Primary Examiner-Philip C. Kannan Y Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Warren F. B. Lindsley [52] US. Cl 160/91, 49/50, 49/62, 160/104, 160/179 [51] int. Cl E06b 9/01 [58] Field of Search 160/104, 369, 179, 182,

160/91; 49/50, 61, 171, 57, 62; 52/656, 507, [57] ABSTRACT A security screen with supporting frame for easy in- 5 References Ci d stallation over a conventional met'al window casing,

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,999,504 4/1935 Jaeger 49/62 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures IIIII SECURITY SCREEN FOR WINDOW BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years a serious problem of national concern has been the steadily increasing crime rate which tends to involve an ever growing segment of the population.

For whatever reason, these occurrences of petty burglaries and other break-ins invole large numbers of novices and juveniles who need to be discouraged before they graduate to the ranks of professional criminals.

It has been widely recognized, for example, that a motorist may inadvertently contribute to the delinquency of a minor by leaving the keys in the ignition switch of his unattended motor vehicle. Faced with a temptation of this nature, a youth or an older person lacking well formed moral convictions might be enticed to embark on a course of lawlessness that leads to even more serious offenses.

The individual citizen also recognizes that it is possible to protecthimself or his property by means which may not be completely fool-proof but yet introduces serious difficulties for the potential offender and thereby discourages his unlawful disigns.

In the case of crimes involving breaking and entering, even the novice offender soon finds that there are-numerous simple procedures for entering a typical residence or place of business. It is important to the owner or resident, therefore, to remove as many of these easy avenues of entry as possible.

Of specific interest to this invention is the typical lack of security offered by a conventional metal encased window and screen combination. The flimsy screen. usually on the outside, is easily cut with a shear or knife. The window may already be open or unlatched or if it is closed and latched, no great skill is required to open it with the aid of a glass-cutter.

Accordingly, it is important as an aim of this invention to afford a means for enhancing the security of such windows by providing a readily attachable device which significantly complicates breaking and entering through such an opening.

PRIOR ART Various makeshift screen assemblies are available which must be attached by means of screws. Such screws are unsightly and often may be removed with limited difficulty from the outside so that the desired security is not provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention claimed, a sturdy metal frame supporting a heavy diamond mesh screen is provided with a wraparound flange about its periphery which permits it to be slipped over the edges of the metal window casing where it is held in place when the window casing is secured by its clamping screws.

It is. therefore. an object ofthis invention to provide a protective metal screen for mounting over a metal window casing.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a protective metal screen which may be readily installed over an existing metal casing.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a protective metal screen which is not readily removable from the outside.

A still further object of this invention is to provide such a protective metal screen which is simple and in-.

expensive to manufacture and which requires a minimum of additional hardware for mounting.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention may be more readily described by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of the protective metal screen of this invention shown suspended in front of a typical metal encased window-and-screen combination of the type over which it is intended to be mounted.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the protective metal screen taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the metal encased window-and-screen combination taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is across-sectional view of the metal encased window-and-screen combination taken along line 33 of FIG. 1 but shown in this case with the protective metal screen secured in place over the window casing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings by characters of reference, FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 disclose the protective metal screen 10 having a metal frame 11 which, for example, may be rectangular in shape on which is mounted by welding, clamping or other suitable means a heavy diamond mesh screen material 12.

The protective metal screen 10 is intended for mounting over a conventional metal encased windowand-screen combination 13 shown installed in a wall or door 14 having an outside surface or face 15 and an inside surface or face 16. t

The metal encased window-and-screen combination is comprised of a screen section 17 which is installed from outside the opening of the wall or door 14 and a window section 18 which is installed from inside the opening.

In a typical manner of construction, the metal frame 19 of screen section 17 is fabricated from an aluminum extrusion having a cross-section as shown in FIG. 3 with a flat outside frame portion 21 which lies parallel with face 15 of wall or door 14 and rests against face 15 when screen section 17 is secured in place.

Extending laterally from the flat outside frame portion 21 are two step portions 22 and 23, the vertical riser 24 of the first step 22 portion mating, when screen section 17 is installed in the inside of the opening in wall or door 14 to secure its upward, downward and side-to-side positioning therein.

The metal frame 25 of window section 18 is of a similar construction as screen section 17 having a flat frame 26 extending parallel with and juxtapositioned to the inside surface of face 16. A series of two step portions 27 and 28 are arranged to extend from flat frame 26 rising from the inside edge of frame 26 into the opening in wall or door 14, the first step again securing the upward, downward and side-to-side positioning of window section 18.

A lightweight screen 29 is mounted on the back or inner surface of flat frame 21 and sliding glass windows are mounted by various means in frame 25.

To mount screen section 17 and window section 18 in an opening in wall or door 14, screen section 17 is introduced into the opening in the wall or door opening from the outside, namely from its face 15. Window section 18 is introduced into the opening from the other side of wall or door 14, namely from face'l6 thereof. Clamping screws 32 and 33 passing through clearance holes 34 and 35 in step 27 of frame 25 are threaded into holes 36 and 37 located in step 22 of frame 19. As screws 32 and 33 are tightened, flat frame 26 of window section 18 is drawn securely against the flat surface of face 16 and flat frame 21 is drawn securely against the flat surface of face 15 until window section 18 and screen section 17 are locked securely in place within the opening in wall or door 14. The illustration of FIG. 3 shows the installation in process with screws 32 and 33 not yet engaged in holes 36 and 37.

The cross-sectional view of screen l shown in FIG. 2 illustrates the special configuration of frame 11 which permits screen to be readily and securely attached to screen section 17. The flat sheet metal frame 11 extends outwardly beyond screen 12 to a point 38 where two ninety degree bends 39 and 42 are provided which form a narrow slot 43 having an opening just wide enough to receive without interference the edge of flat frame 21 of screen section 17. The slot formation 43 extends along both vertical sides 44 and 45 and across the top 46 of protective screen 10, but not along its bottom edge 47, the bottom edge 47 of frame 11 being open for reasons hereinafter explained.

To attach screen 10 to screen section 17, the screws 32 and 33 are first partially backed out of holes 36 and 37 so that flat frame 21 is not securely clamped against face of wall or door 14 thereby leaving an opening between frame 21 and face 15. Screen 10 is then raised above frame 21 and its outer edges 48 are guided into slots 43 of frame 11 as screen 10 is lowered over the vertically positioned window and screen combination 13 when it is mounted in a wall or door. Finally, as the screen [0 reaches its rest position. slot 43 along top 46 receives the top edge of frame 21, thereby restraining further downward travel of screen 10. Screws 32 and 33 are then tightened and the folded edge 49 of frame 11 which forms the inner wall-of slot 43 is clamped securely between frame 21 and surface 15. Friction between metal frame surfaces and wall surface 15 will normally make it impossible to remove screen 10 from outside door 14 when installation is accomplished in the aforedescribed manner. In special cases, however, it may be desirable to provide a series of sharp projections 51 along the edge 49 of frame 11 which mates with surface 15 so that projections 51 are pressed into surface 15 as screws 32 and 33 are tightened.

It will be recognized that access to both sides of wall or door 14 permits the easy and convenient attachment or removal of screen 10 to screen section 17, but with access from only outside of wall 10, it is next to impossible to remove screen 10. Furthermore, no hardware is required beyond that already provided for the installation of the window and screen combination 13. It is this particular feature of this invention and the novel means by which it is provided which distinguish it from prior art approaches which utilize screws and other hardware, thereby unavoidably complicating the installation and offering greater opportunity for removal from the outside.

Construction of screen 10 is extremely simple, including only a frame 11 and screen material 12. Frame 11 may be formed as described by the bending of a flat sheet of metal, or it might alternately be formed by extrusion. Screen material 12 is readily'available as a diamond mesh or in other forms which are rugged and strong and not easily cut without. the use of special tools.

Because the window-and-screen combinations are produced in a limited number of standard dimensions, a standard set of protective screens 10 may be manufactured in corresponding dimensions and may be marketed for attachment to existing window-screen installations.

Although but a single embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A window-screen frame combination for mounting in an opening of a wall or door comprising:

a screen frame for insertion into the opening from one side thereof, said screen frame defining a flange extending laterally ofthe' opening parallel with and over its peripheral edges, 1

said screen frame further defining a surface extending laterally of said flange of said screen inwardly of and around the peripheral edges of the opening and then inwardly of the opening and parallel with said flange of said screen,

a window frame for insertion into the opening from the other side thereof, said window frame defining a flange extending laterally ofthe opening parallel with and over its peripheral edges,

said window frame further defining a surface extending laterally of said flange of said window inwardly of and around the peripheral edge of the opening and then inwardly of the opening and parallel with said flange of said window,

a security screen for fastening to said screen frame,

said security screen comprising a metallic frame defining an opening,

a metallic screen mounted on said frame and covering its opening,

the outer edges of at least three sides of said security frame being bent over on itself to form channels between the frame and its bent over edges,

said channels receiving a pair of outer parallel edges of the flange of the screen frame upon said metallic frame being slid over the outer edges of said frame from one end thereof,

and means extending through said window frame and into threaded engagementwith apertures in said screen frame for tightly securing said security frame to the peripheral edge of the opening between said flanges on said screen frame and the periphery of the wall or door opening.

2. The window-screen frame combination set forth in claim 1 wherein:

6 said means extends through the inwardly extending portion of said flange on said window frame and into threaded engagement with apertures in the inwardly extending portion of said flange on said screen frame for tightly securing said security screen to the peripheral edge of the opening. 

1. A window-screen frame combination for mounting in an opening of a wall or door comprising: a screen frame for insertion into the opening from one side thereof, said screen frame defining a flange extending laterally of the opening parallel with and over its peripheral edges, said screen frame further defining a surface extending laterally of said flange of said screen inwardly of and around the peripheral edges of the opening and then inwardly of the opening and parallel with said flange of said screen, a window frame for insertion into the opening from the other side thereof, said window frame defining a flange extending laterally of the opening parallel with and over its peripheral edges, said window frame further defining a surface extending laterally of said flange of said window inwardly of and around the peripheral edge of the opening and then inwardly of the opening and parallel with said flange of said window, a security screen for fastening to said screen frame, said security screen comprising a metallic frame defining an opening, a metallic screen mounted on said frame and covering its opening, the outer edges of at least three sides of said security frame being bent over on itself to form channels between the frame and its bent over edges, said channels receiving a pair of outer parallel edges of the flange of the screen frame upon said metallic frame being slid over the outer edges of said frame from one end thereof, and means extending through said window frame and into threaded engagement with apertures in said screen frame for tightly securing said security frame to the peripheral edge of the opening between said flanges on said screen frame and the periphery of the wall or door opening.
 2. The window-screen frame combination set forth in claim 1 wherein: said outer edges of said security frame being provided with protrusions for gripping the surface of the periphery of the wall and door openings when said security frame is attached to a window-door combination.
 3. The window-screen frame combination set forth in claim 1 wherein: said means extends through the inwardly extending portion of said flange on said window frame and into threaded engagement with apertures in the inwardly extending portion of said flange on said screen frame for tightly securing said security screen to the peripheral edge of the opening. 